Girls hockey: Area teams triumphant as conference play begins again

The Hill-Murray Pioneers, defending CSC champions, posted a 5-1 win over South St. Paul. North High gained a 3-2 win over Mahtomedi in overtime, and Tartan was victorious, 6-3, against Henry Sibley.

Hill-Murray 5 - South St. Paul 1

In the first period of play, the Pioneers put what turned out to be the game-winner up on the scoreboard.

At three minutes into the contest—played at Wakota Arena—Sarah Bobrowski took a feed from Laura Anderson and put the puck into the back twines.

At the 13:35 mark in period one, it was Bobrowski once more following passes from Jac Kaasa and Brittney Anderson, who hit pay dirt for a 2-0 Hill-Murray lead at the end of the first 17-minutes of action.

In the second period, the South St. Paul Packers drew close when Abby Palmquist feathered a feed to Brigette Miller, whose shot was the only goal of the second period.

With the tally 2-1 in favor of the Pioneers, the third period belonged to Hill-Murray.

Laura Anderson took feeds from Kaasa and Samantha Boyer and put the puck between the pipes at 7:01.

Just under three minutes later, Brittney Anderson sent a pass to the stick of Jess Bonfe, who found an opening at 9:56 to push the score to 4-2.

The final tally came when Kaasa—her third assist—found the blade of Bobrowski, who potted her hat trick goal at 15:26 to give Hill-Murray the 5-1 lead with which they would finish the game.

Tartan 6 - Henry Sibley 3

Behind the three-goal hat trick of Jordan Jackson and the three-assists of Jaimee Nowicki, the Tartan Titans outscored the Henry Sibley Warriors 6-3 in a game played on Sibley’s home ice at the West St. Paul Arena.

The Warriors—who outshot the Titans 51-38—put the first goal into the net when assists from Anna Restemayer and Erika Hillstrom hit the blade of Alexa Wild who scored at 11:52 of period one.

The Titans retaliated less than a minute later when Gabriella Bjellos sent a feed to Brianna Greiskalns who knotted the count at 1-1 with a radar blast at 12:28.

Just 19 seconds later Tartan picked up an unassisted goal from Hannah Croonquist for a 2-1 lead at 12:47.

Play moved into the second period, and Jackson picked up a loose puck and put it to the back of the Sibley net at 11:09 for the only tally of the second 17 minutes of action.

Play moved to period three and the pace of scoring picked up.

A pass from Tara Bighley hit the stick of Jackson, and she hit the back twines for her second score and the 4-1 eventual game-winner at 4:19.

Just under a half minute later, Nowicki sent a feed across to Jackson who connected with her hat-trick tally at 4:46.

Three minutes later the Warriors mounted a comeback when an assist from Mikaela Wild sent a feed to the stick of Demi Cooper, who didn’t miss with a one-timer at 7:50.

Next it was Cooper who teamed with Lily Wetzel-Edstrom to send a pass to Wild who parlayed the feeds into a Sibley goal at 12:48.

Leading 5-3, the Titans put the game out of reach when Nowicki picked up her third assist on a pass to Kayla Longfellow who sizzled the back mesh at 14:21 for what turned out to be the final score in the 6-3 Titans’ victory.

North 3 - Mahtomedi 2

The Polars and Zephyrs reserved just the second period and 1:59 of overtime to score all the goals in a 3-2 North triumph at Polar Arena.

Just 51 seconds into the second period, Mahtomedi put the 1-0 tally on the board when Aimee Krebsbach fed the puck to Madison Bergren, who sent a blast to the back of the North net.

The Polars retaliated when assists off the sticks of Katelyn Stepaniak and Carli Langevin found Lauren Carle in the deep slot. The senior defender sent a long slap shot through traffic that found an opening at 4:43.

Just two minutes later, the Polars moved ahead, 2-1, on a shorthanded goal when Haley Schanks cut off a pass and sent a feed to a breaking Lily Langevin, who sizzled the back twines at 6:20.

It took just three and a half minutes for the Zephyrs to again knot the count.

Feeds from Madison Bergren and Emma Bartholomew found the blade of Kalie Heinl, who found an opening between the North pipes at 9:55.

With the count at 2-2, the teams skated through the third period—as they did the first—without either finding a way to end the game in regulation.

In the eight-minute, sudden-win overtime session it took just under two minutes for the Polars to notch the victory.

Passes from L. Langevin and Schanks found an open Erin Jungmann in the mid-slot. The senior winger wasted no time sending the 3-2 game-winner to the back of the Zephyrs’ net at 1:59.

Up next

Conference play continues Friday, Jan. 10, when North will meet South St. Paul at 7 p.m. at Wakota Arena. Tartan will travel to St. Croix Arena to play Mahtomedi at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 7:30 p.m. conference games will find Sibley and North at Polar Arena, and Hill-Murray traveling to Tartan Arena to face Tartan.